No combination of skills is more coveted in baseball than speed and power. Excelling at either one of those individually can make a player dangerous in different ways. Players with more power are often relied on to drive in more runs, while coaches count of speedy players to set the table. It’s the formula of success for any winning team.
It is so rare for any one player, however, to be endowed with both the ability to hit for power and the gift of speed that we usually recognize these players with certain distinctions: the title of being a “multi-tool player”, the acclaim of being a member of the 40-40 club, and often, the timeless honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame.
Sure, Cooperstown is a long way off for Malvern Prep (Pa.) star outfielder Chris Gosik, but there aren’t many on the high school level with his balance of both traits. The 6-foot, 200 pound Gosik has the frame of a linebacker. As a hitter he can find the gaps in the outfield, not to mention the other side of the fence.
He struck for 17 doubles as a junior as well as 10 home runs, a school record. However, ask Gosik what his biggest asset is on the diamond, and he’ll tell you it’s not his prodigious power, but rather, his ability to motor around the bases and the outfield.
“My biggest strength as a player in my speed,” Gosik said. “Even though I’m a bigger guy I can still run very well.”
Gosik swiped a whopping 35 bases as a junior. He also legged out nine triples, the same number hit by nearby Philadelphia Phillies star speedster Jimmy Rollins. His diverse talents should come as little surprise to those who know Gosik’s parents. His father Mark played both baseball and football at West Chester University. His mother Donna was a record-setting track runner while in high school.
Malvern Prep skipper Michael Hickey was impressed early on by Gosik, who transferred to the school for his sophomore season after one year at Bishop Shanahan (Downingtown, Pa.). Facing his former school in his first at bat for Malvern Prep, Gosik was hit by a pitch. His next at-bat, he attempted an unsuccessful drag bunt, trying to catch the third baseman off guard. A few pitches later, he squared for another bunt, this time pulling the bat back and swinging away. Gosik launched an impressive 400-foot home run in his first game with the Friars.
“We referred to it as the ‘slash bomb’, and joked about putting in a sign for it,” Hickey said.
Over the course of his sophomore campaign, Gosik crushed two more home runs while batting a robust .479. Though his home run power was still in its developmental stages, he did rip 20 doubles and steal 20 bases. He followed that up by batting .509 as a junior. During those two seasons, Gosik helped Malvern Prep to a 75-12 record.
“He is a student of the game and his own worst critic,” Hickey said. “He is constantly trying to improve.”
Gosik realizes that baseball is a game of ebb and flow, and that succeeding only three out of ten times at the plate is a huge accomplishment.
“There will be times when you feel like quitting because you’re playing so bad. You just have to stick with it and keep working hard,” he said. “Becoming a good player is about how you deal with failure.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer named him first team All-Southeastern Pennsylvania. It is fitting, in a way, that Gosik has risen to such prominence in the shadows of the City of Brotherly Love. His uncle, Chris Wheeler, is the announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Come September, Gosik plans to head south. He has signed a letter of intent to play baseball for East Carolina University. Still, Gosik may be selected in the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft, held June 9. He would then have to decide whether to continue with his plan to play for East Carolina, or pursue his dream of playing professional baseball right away.
For Gosik, it’s a good problem to have.
“If it happens it would be a dream come true, but if it doesn’t I will be playing at a top 15 program in the nation at East Carolina. I look at it as a win-win for me.”
